WEBVTT - If it can wait

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that if there is a task on your

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<v Speaker 1>to do list that you keep kicking forward, maybe you

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<v Speaker 1>don't actually have to do it at all. And if

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<v Speaker 1>the task can wait, can you eliminate it instead. Longtime

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<v Speaker 1>listeners know that I advocate seeing your to do list

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<v Speaker 1>as a contract with yourself. If you put something on

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<v Speaker 1>your list, you are committing to getting it done on

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<v Speaker 1>a specific day. I know not everyone agrees with me

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<v Speaker 1>on this, and I also know that life happens even

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<v Speaker 1>if you truly intended to accomplish a task on a

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<v Speaker 1>given day. There are times when unexpected things come up,

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<v Speaker 1>when you have a new demand on your time, when

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<v Speaker 1>something takes a lot longer than you had any reason

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<v Speaker 1>to expect, so you prioritize whatever has to be done

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<v Speaker 1>that day and roll forward the rest. There are some

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<v Speaker 1>tasks that are important but not necessarily urgent, like identifying

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<v Speaker 1>your career goals for the year ahead, exploring an idea

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<v Speaker 1>for a new service line for your business, or building

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<v Speaker 1>a relationship with a new colleague. Those should happen, but

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<v Speaker 1>don't have to happen at a specific time. So if

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<v Speaker 1>you plan to spend a morning charting out your long

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<v Speaker 1>term career goals, but you have a kid home with

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<v Speaker 1>the flu or an urgent request from your boss or

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<v Speaker 1>biggest client, it makes sense to reschedule the career planning

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<v Speaker 1>for another time, So do choose a new time. You

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<v Speaker 1>do want to eventually do these things, but with some

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<v Speaker 1>other tasks. If you don't get to them on the

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<v Speaker 1>day you initially plan to do them, you may be

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<v Speaker 1>able to scribble them off the list altogether. Any sort

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<v Speaker 1>of email newsletter that you don't read the day it arrives,

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<v Speaker 1>you could probably just delete. If you plan to do

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<v Speaker 1>a full clean out of your closet over the weekend

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<v Speaker 1>and you didn't, maybe it really wasn't that important to you.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe you can throw out some ripped items and drop

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<v Speaker 1>a few others in a donation bin and just call

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<v Speaker 1>it a day. Some work tasks that keep getting rescheduled

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<v Speaker 1>make qualify for the cutting block too. Does the binder

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<v Speaker 1>you're creating for new board members really need to include

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<v Speaker 1>an organization history and staff org chart. If you keep

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<v Speaker 1>moving these items forward to the next days or the

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<v Speaker 1>next week's priority list. Take the hint that those may

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<v Speaker 1>not be the two most important components. It is quite

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<v Speaker 1>possible no one will notice they are missing. If you're

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<v Speaker 1>having a hard time with letting go of these tasks,

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<v Speaker 1>set a reminder to yourself for next year at this

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<v Speaker 1>time to reconsider this decision. If you have managed to

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<v Speaker 1>live your life in the apps of something, probably the

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<v Speaker 1>task can be gone for good. If you don't get

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<v Speaker 1>to something the day you would plan to, rather than

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<v Speaker 1>reflexively moving it to the next day or the next day,

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<v Speaker 1>consider whether you can just skip the task instead. If

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<v Speaker 1>it is not essential that you do a task today,

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<v Speaker 1>is it important that you ever do it? Sometimes yes,

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<v Speaker 1>but sometimes the answer is actually no, and that is

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<v Speaker 1>pretty liberating to realize. If you eliminate any unnecessary tasks

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<v Speaker 1>from your to do list, you can tell me what

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<v Speaker 1>you cross out and how you feel. You can reach

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<v Speaker 1>me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Thanks for listening to before breakfast.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach

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<v Speaker 1>me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,

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<v Speaker 1>please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

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<v Speaker 1>listen to your favorite shows.